Nord Drum 2 Synthesizer

The Nord Drum 2 Synthesizer features a 6-channel percussion synth, second generation audio engine with drive, crush and EQ effects on each channel, repeat modes for delays, 6 generic inputs for pads and triggers, Nord pad input, MIDI I/O, stereo out and headphone output. This compact synth is a beast of a percussion synthesizer that will take you to new places for your productions. Buy yours today from UniqueSquared.com

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The sounds of the Nord Drum 2 are all synthesized in real-time - allowing you to both sculpt and play sounds with a unique dynamic response, regardless if you prefer to play with drum sticks or from a sequencer.

The Sound generation takes place in the three sections Tone,Noise and Click.

The Resonant synthesis mode offers a wide range of complex spectras inspired by materials like drum heads, marimba,vibraphone, tines and cymbals. A unique feature includes the possibility to tune harmonic spectra.

The Nord Drum 2 offers great control over the dynamic response of the harmonic spectras:

The Dynamic Timbre feature opens the upper parts of the harmonic spectra up at higher velocities, giving it a brighter Timbre. The upper parts of the harmonic spectra can also have an independent decay time using the Hi Decay control.

When using the Subtractive synthesis mode, the Timbre and Timbre Dyn controls a Low-Pass filter and the Hi Decay parameter becomes a Filter Sweep control.

The Punch parameter lets you add more attack to the Tone by making the fundamental pitch perform an ultra-fast pitch or volume envelope at the very beginning of the sound.

The Decay controls the decay of the whole spectra, with a choice of Linear and Logarithmic decay envelopes. By enabling Dynamic Decay and the length of the decay can be longer or shorter depending on velocity.

The Bend parameter is a powerful, velocity sensitive pitch envelope. Like the Punch parameter it can be used both to create attack-like effects but also more radical bending sounds that travel up or down when played. Example uses can be to create the sound of a raindrop, Tablas and that classic 80’s “pioouw” tom-sound.

Noise Section

The Noise section is all about producing noise and is very powerful. Create anything from silky smooth hiss to grainy gravel to give the Tone part of the sound some texture, strange attack or even an impression of reverb.

The Noise can be sculpted with Low-Pass, High-Pass or Band-Pass filters with Cut-Off and Resonance controls. Once you found the noise of your choice, it can be adjusted to respond dynamically to velocity in the same manner as with the Tone section.

A great new feature in the Nord Drum 2 Noise Section is the Attack controls. In its standard mode it can add an attack envelope to the Noise, brilliant for shaker-like sounds or perhaps a reversed reverb type of effect. The newAttack Rate mode creates a pulsing attack effect with adjustable rate that can be used to create anything from handclaps to strange, rattling percussive sounds.

The Decay control is just as powerful, with a choice of Linear and Logarithmic and Gated decay types. TheDynamic control is the icing on the cake, enabling you to control the length of the decay with velocity. Combine this with the equally powerful dynamic controls of the Tone Section and it won’t take long before realizing the potential for creating complex sounds with fascinating material-like behaviors!

Click Section

The Click-section is a specialized section for an ultra-short attack to the sound. A wide range of different click type are available as well as a level control for finding the sweet spot where the Click merges with the other elements and becomes one coherent sound.

Effects

Each of the 6 channels of the Nord Drum 2 has its own powerful effects – Distortion, EQ and Repeat.

The Distortion effect has two modes – a crunchy Overdriveeffect and a crackling sample-rate reducing Crush effect. Sometimes, adding just a touch of overdrive to all of your sounds can make a huge difference in terms of realism. Naturally, you can put the pedal to the metal and distort the sounds beyond recognition – they will still be very playable.

A great sounding parametric Equalizer with selectable band and amount is also available for each channel, brilliant for adding some finish or attitude to your sounds.

The Repeat effect produces an effect similar to a MIDI Delay. The repeating hits will be generated as if they were played from a pad, including the complex dynamic behavior of the Nord Drum 2 sound engine. The Repeat Tempo is set globally for all channels, but number of repeats and the effect amount can be set for each channel separately.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Group Edit

The handy Group Edit mode let’s you create a group of up to 6 channels that can then be edited simultaneously. This can be very handy when you have a family of drums that you want to apply the same type of treatment to, saving you from doing the same operation several times. The Group Edit mode even features a Group Scale mode, that can apply a selection of tonal Scale presets to the drum channels that are being Group edited - brilliant for playing tuned percussion.

Mute Group

The Mute Group gives you the option to create sounds that can cancel each other out. Only one of the members of the group can sound at a time, and can be used for creating a close/open hi-hat behavior and emulating muting techniques from hand percussion.

Mixer

The Channel Mixer sets the level for each channel and also features a Pan control for creating a lush stereo image. If you like to send the kick to a separate output, just pan that channel all the way to the left and the other channels to the right.

Performance

Our aim when designing the Nord Drum 2 was not only to create a astounding sound engine but also playable and with the lightning fast response you’d expect from a real drum.

Input flexibility

The 6 generic inputs can be connected to almost anything you like, electronic drum pads, acoustic drum triggers, a contact microphone, the outputs of an old drum machine and much more. Setting the Input and Threshold is easy and we’ve added a selection of presets for popular pads and triggers.

Nord Pad input

The Nord Drum 2 features a dedicated input for the new 6-pad Nord Pad (optional accessory). We designed the Nord Pad to offer a compact, responsive multi-pad for easily integrating the Nord Drum 2 into any setup. The Nord Pad is connected to the Nord Drum 2 using a single cable (standard Ethernet type). Input 1 on the Nord Drum 2 has a special feature enabling you to connect and play a kick drum pad at the same time as the Nord Pad.

MIDI

MIDI in/out is also available for using the Nord Drum 2 with any kind of MIDI pads or sequence it from an external MIDI Sequencer. The majority of the Nord Drum 2 sound parameters can be controlled via CC-controls over MIDI. If you own an iPad don't miss the free iPad app Nord Beat, specifically designed for sequencing the Nord Drum 2 via MIDI.

Everything you play using the Nord Pad, electronic drum pads or acoustic triggers is automatically output to the MIDI output, making the Nord Drum 2 a great trigger interface as well.

The sounds of the Nord Drum 2 are all synthesized in real-time - allowing you to both sculpt and play sounds with a unique dynamic response, regardless if you prefer to play with drum sticks or from a sequencer.

The Sound generation takes place in the three sections Tone,Noise and Click.

The Resonant synthesis mode offers a wide range of complex spectras inspired by materials like drum heads, marimba,vibraphone, tines and cymbals. A unique feature includes the possibility to tune harmonic spectra.

The Nord Drum 2 offers great control over the dynamic response of the harmonic spectras:

The Dynamic Timbre feature opens the upper parts of the harmonic spectra up at higher velocities, giving it a brighter Timbre. The upper parts of the harmonic spectra can also have an independent decay time using the Hi Decay control.

When using the Subtractive synthesis mode, the Timbre and Timbre Dyn controls a Low-Pass filter and the Hi Decay parameter becomes a Filter Sweep control.

The Punch parameter lets you add more attack to the Tone by making the fundamental pitch perform an ultra-fast pitch or volume envelope at the very beginning of the sound.

The Decay controls the decay of the whole spectra, with a choice of Linear and Logarithmic decay envelopes. By enabling Dynamic Decay and the length of the decay can be longer or shorter depending on velocity.

The Bend parameter is a powerful, velocity sensitive pitch envelope. Like the Punch parameter it can be used both to create attack-like effects but also more radical bending sounds that travel up or down when played. Example uses can be to create the sound of a raindrop, Tablas and that classic 80’s “pioouw” tom-sound.

Noise Section

The Noise section is all about producing noise and is very powerful. Create anything from silky smooth hiss to grainy gravel to give the Tone part of the sound some texture, strange attack or even an impression of reverb.

The Noise can be sculpted with Low-Pass, High-Pass or Band-Pass filters with Cut-Off and Resonance controls. Once you found the noise of your choice, it can be adjusted to respond dynamically to velocity in the same manner as with the Tone section.

A great new feature in the Nord Drum 2 Noise Section is the Attack controls. In its standard mode it can add an attack envelope to the Noise, brilliant for shaker-like sounds or perhaps a reversed reverb type of effect. The newAttack Rate mode creates a pulsing attack effect with adjustable rate that can be used to create anything from handclaps to strange, rattling percussive sounds.

The Decay control is just as powerful, with a choice of Linear and Logarithmic and Gated decay types. TheDynamic control is the icing on the cake, enabling you to control the length of the decay with velocity. Combine this with the equally powerful dynamic controls of the Tone Section and it won’t take long before realizing the potential for creating complex sounds with fascinating material-like behaviors!

Click Section

The Click-section is a specialized section for an ultra-short attack to the sound. A wide range of different click type are available as well as a level control for finding the sweet spot where the Click merges with the other elements and becomes one coherent sound.

Effects

Each of the 6 channels of the Nord Drum 2 has its own powerful effects – Distortion, EQ and Repeat.

The Distortion effect has two modes – a crunchy Overdriveeffect and a crackling sample-rate reducing Crush effect. Sometimes, adding just a touch of overdrive to all of your sounds can make a huge difference in terms of realism. Naturally, you can put the pedal to the metal and distort the sounds beyond recognition – they will still be very playable.

A great sounding parametric Equalizer with selectable band and amount is also available for each channel, brilliant for adding some finish or attitude to your sounds.

The Repeat effect produces an effect similar to a MIDI Delay. The repeating hits will be generated as if they were played from a pad, including the complex dynamic behavior of the Nord Drum 2 sound engine. The Repeat Tempo is set globally for all channels, but number of repeats and the effect amount can be set for each channel separately.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Group Edit

The handy Group Edit mode let’s you create a group of up to 6 channels that can then be edited simultaneously. This can be very handy when you have a family of drums that you want to apply the same type of treatment to, saving you from doing the same operation several times. The Group Edit mode even features a Group Scale mode, that can apply a selection of tonal Scale presets to the drum channels that are being Group edited - brilliant for playing tuned percussion.

Mute Group

The Mute Group gives you the option to create sounds that can cancel each other out. Only one of the members of the group can sound at a time, and can be used for creating a close/open hi-hat behavior and emulating muting techniques from hand percussion.

Mixer

The Channel Mixer sets the level for each channel and also features a Pan control for creating a lush stereo image. If you like to send the kick to a separate output, just pan that channel all the way to the left and the other channels to the right.

Performance

Our aim when designing the Nord Drum 2 was not only to create a astounding sound engine but also playable and with the lightning fast response you’d expect from a real drum.

Input flexibility

The 6 generic inputs can be connected to almost anything you like, electronic drum pads, acoustic drum triggers, a contact microphone, the outputs of an old drum machine and much more. Setting the Input and Threshold is easy and we’ve added a selection of presets for popular pads and triggers.

Nord Pad input

The Nord Drum 2 features a dedicated input for the new 6-pad Nord Pad (optional accessory). We designed the Nord Pad to offer a compact, responsive multi-pad for easily integrating the Nord Drum 2 into any setup. The Nord Pad is connected to the Nord Drum 2 using a single cable (standard Ethernet type). Input 1 on the Nord Drum 2 has a special feature enabling you to connect and play a kick drum pad at the same time as the Nord Pad.

MIDI

MIDI in/out is also available for using the Nord Drum 2 with any kind of MIDI pads or sequence it from an external MIDI Sequencer. The majority of the Nord Drum 2 sound parameters can be controlled via CC-controls over MIDI. If you own an iPad don't miss the free iPad app Nord Beat, specifically designed for sequencing the Nord Drum 2 via MIDI.

Everything you play using the Nord Pad, electronic drum pads or acoustic triggers is automatically output to the MIDI output, making the Nord Drum 2 a great trigger interface as well.

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